I'm in dreamland! Begovic adds to World Cup heroics with man of the match performance to keep West Brom at bay

In the sanitised world of the Premier League, it is easy to forget the barriers that football can break down.

And so it has been for Stoke City goalkeeper Asmir Begovic this week.

His man-of-the-match performance against West Brom followed the first qualification by his country, Bosnia and Herzegovina, for a World Cup.

Man of the match: Asmir Begovic denies Stephane Sessegnon late on at the Britannia Stadium

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Not one of Stoke’s recognised forwards has found the net in the Premier League this season.

'It’s surreal,' he said after winning three face-to-face duels with West Brom striker Stephane Sessegnon to ensure the clean sheet.

'You can’t put into words what it means to the people there. It was a motivation for us to qualify. To have something to cheer about after all these years of pain and the bad things that happened to the country.

'I was there for part of it. We moved away. My parents made the decision to leave quite early. I had other family there though who left their houses to live in basements and tunnels under ground when the city was under siege.

No way through: Begovic keeps out Morgan Amalfitano's close-range effort

'They are like historical tourist attractions now. When you arrive at the airport, the tunnel underneath is where people were hiding, living there for days at a time.

'It got battered and you can still see the scars now. It was a huge motivation for us to try and bring something positive back to Bosnia.

'We want people to see the country in a more positive light. So for me, weeks like this are what dreams are made of.'

Begovic should have been called into action at the Britannia to save a penalty, but referee Howard Webb missed Charlie Adam’s second lunge at Youssouf Mulumbu as the Congo midfielder broke into the area.

‘His boot came off,’ said an incredulous West Brom defender Liam Ridgewell at the final whistle. ‘It doesn’t just happen when you are running along.’

Disbelief: Youssouf Mulumbu reacts after being denied a penalty against Stoke

To his credit, Webb viewed the incident again after the match and apologised to West Brom coach Kevin Keen for failing to spot the infringement.

The view of the Yorkshire official was blocked and he reportedly thought it would have been wrong to have second-guessed the incident, not having enjoyed a clear sight of it.